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| So, I don't even know if this will get to anyone, but what the hell. This morning in my quiet time I felt God telling me to go back remember my journey with him over the past few years. So, I signed into xanga and just read back through all my old posts. It was an epic time. It helped me so much to see the highs and lows of where I've been over the last 5 years. I encourage all of you to do the same. If you're down, you'll be encouraged to remember other rough seasons, and how they ended. If you're doing well, you came rejoice that you're not in those times. And wherevery you're at, it's really funny reading other peoples comments on your posts and remembering the good times you had with each of them. So, in honor of the old Xanga way, here's my latest post. Life has been very interesting lately to say the least. I left Denver at the end of 2007 and returned home to Minneapolis. My mission was and still is to start a band and try and make a career out of music. Within days of returning I met with my old drummer and we started playing and working the rust off each other, musically. Last winter, we added a bassist who left a month ago. the good news is that we got an absolute miracle of a deal on studio time, so we're in the studio right now recording a six song EP that should be out by the end of the year. From there we will audition new bassists and probably another guitarist or keys player and start gigging. Paying the bills during that time has been interesting. I've worked at a coffeeshop, a hotel, a music store, a travelling photo booth, and for the last 10 months, I've also been the Youth and Worship Director at a small church in the suburbs. It's been wild. There may be a return to YWAM around the corner, or a new job, or more of the same. I'm at a bit of a crossroads, which freaked me out until I read my own history this morning and found that the road has never been predictable, rarely been easy, but has always been led and accompanied by the Almighty. Keep your stick on the ice, JD | | |
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| Hi, My name is Jonathan David O'Brien and I know most of you from a former life when we both used to update frequently on this strange world of xanga. Right now I'm living in a northern suburb of Denver, Colorado and doing many different, interesting things to occupy my time. I'm paying the bills (in theory) by waiting tables at Buffalo Wild Wings. If you're not familiar with B-dubs, it's a sports bar that probably symbalizes everything I love about America. Good food, sports, music playing in the background, friends hanging out, and oh yes, beer. I'm really enjoying it. I'm also leading worship at a small church around here while their regular worship leader is out of the country (she's on staff with YWAM Denver and is on outreach in India!!!!). I'm going to a house church that I love on Thursday nights so that frees me up to use all my worship leader connections down here and play "rent-a-worship leader" for churches that need one here and there. I live with a drummer, which is both a blessing and a curse, in a 5 bedroom house that his parents own. It's a good set up. We've been here for a month and finally got internet up today!!! I'll also be playing lots of music while I'm down here, but all of that hasn't totally taken shape yet. One thing that has shapen up is that I'll be managing a couple different artists, getting them gigs and promoting them. So go listen to Heidi Holt and John Connor!!!! Anyway, Keep your stick on the ice, JD | | |
| I’m alive. I’m not dead. I made it to YWAM Denver for the School of Worship and it’s been wonderful. Strangely though, I felt the Lord tell me not to post until I had all of my school fees paid for. So… GOT THE MONEY!!! I expected one big tidal wave where it would all come in, but instead it simply trickled in throughout the school until now… two weeks before it ends it’s all there. Isn’t it funny how often he works like that? Praise God. He truly is a God of great blessings. That’s what this school has been all about. It has definitely been a spring season in my life. I love this town and the school has been awesome. I’ve been playing so much guitar I’ve been scared that my fingers were going to fall off. At one point I actually did lose a callous and had to glue it back on for a recording session. I felt really hard core! Stevie Ray Vaughan (one of the best guitarists ever) did that once and it has become the stuff of legend! It’s been cool to see the Lord release me back into this passion. I couldn’t be happier. After the school, I’ll be moving down here to Denver and getting a job. I’ve felt the Lord leading me out of YWAM officially, at least for a season but maybe forever. I’m just taking it one step at a time. Our speaker this week used the analogy that sometimes as Christians we view the world as a sinking ship and we’re in a lifeboat trying to get as many people off the ship as possible. But that image isn’t biblical. So in class we’ve been talking about how to swim back to the ship and keep it from sinking. Basically, we need to start truly loving people and meeting them where they’re at. He’s putting words to thoughts the Lord has been teaching me about for years. So for me, jumping out of the lifeboat back to the ship means leaving YWAM for a bit. I’m not saying YWAM is the lifeboat necessarily, but like any missions/church organization it has the potential for it, and it has become that for me. So, I’m gonna work and meet some dudes that would never set foot in a church and I’m gonna learn how be like Christ to them. Keep your stick on the ice, JD P.S. I truly feel sorry for not keeping in contact with all of my friends the last couple months, it’s not because I don’t love you all. | | |
| I am supposed to leave for the School of Worship in Denver next week. When I arrive at the school I need $3,000 USD in hand to pay for the school. I sent out a big support letter about a month ago to help cover these costs as well as an additional $3,000 for the outreach (which needs to be in a few weeks later). Because I get all my support sent through YWAM Texas (so it's nice and tax deductible for my supporters) I get one lump check every two weeks from Texas. This morning was to be, the first of those lump checks from this big support letter I sent out. I woke up after weeks of praying to see how close I came to that 3 grand I needed and I found... $13.50. You can imagine my dissapointment as my heart shattered like crystal dropped from a very, very tall building. So I started praying, "God, what did I do wrong? If only I hadn't done this, or sent the letter out that late, or... the list goes on." But God spoke into that and said, "JD, this isn't about you. If it was, my mercy and compassion would mean nothing." Okay, so then what, is God trying to teach me to have faith? To trust him? I think those are lessons I've already learned (you can look back in my posts to September 20-24, 2004, or March 20-24, 2005 to find examples of JD learning those lessons. There's a little deal on the bottom left of the page to help you search.) So what could it be? Then I was reminded that one of the clearest things I heard from God about this school, was that he told me Satan really didn't want me to go. Then my thoughts were immediately brought to a story in Daniel 10 in which Daniel prays and the answer is delayed for 24 days. On the twenty-fourth day, he meets with an angel who tells him that he wished to come on the first day but was detained by a demon (called the King of Persia) for 21 days until the archangel Michael came to his aid and delivered him, so that he could in turn deliver Daniel. This is where you come in, my friends. I believe that the delivery is being held up in the spiritual realm and we need to start praying. Please pray with me for this release to come, and the flood gates to be opened. I'm excited to see this play out and to write the joyful praise report as soon as it comes in. Thank you so much for your prayers and friendship. Keep your stick on the ice, JD | | |
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